Anyone selling modular homes should be licensed as a builder. This has always been the predominant position among modular home manufacturers and it is the official position of the Modular Building Systems Association (MBSA). Most modular manufacturers consider this to be one of those common sense issues that need no explanation. It is akin to the sky being blue, the fact that buttered toast always falls on its buttered side and that the Red Sox always lose the Pennant.
Much like the surprise of last year’s World Series when “the Sox” pulled off the victory of a lifetime, many in our industry have been equally surprised (but in a negative way) by a flurry of legislation in various states that would require persons selling modular homes to be licensed.
The MBSA has seen this licensing bill introduced in several states and it always reads the same: Salespersons of modular homes must either be licensed as a manufactured housing dealer or a licensed residential contractor. There are slightly different variations on this theme, but that’s the meat of it. In essence, when you boil it all down, this legislation allows a manufactured housing dealer to become the equivalent of a licensed contractor for the purpose of selling a modular home.
This is a problem for several reasons. First, the qualifications for a manufactured home dealer are not the equivalent of those required of a licensed builder. For years the modular industry has fought against the perception that a modular home means a double-wide. A large part of that battle has involved recruiting the most skilled and best qualified builders to supervise the sale of homes (including the site work and related preparation) to the homeowner.
The modular housing industry has now reached the point where quality is our hallmark and dependability our watchword. There may very well be manufactured home dealers who are able or qualified to become licensed builders. To those dealers I say that the time has now come to become a licensed builder. We welcome new entrants to the industry every day and we will welcome you as well. To build the homes of the future, though, you will be best served by becoming a licensed builder today.
Second, allowing manufactured home dealers to obtain a license to sell modular homes does not address the manufactured housing industry’s claims that they are “fixing a loophole” in the law and addressing consumer concerns.
True modular manufacturers know that there are relatively few problems with the homes they build. There is also no concern from state governments regarding traditional modular manufacturers. Having met with various building officials in states across this country, the one rejoinder that I hear continually is that there is no problem with the modular industry. What problems that do crop up, however, are predominantly the result of sales of homes by manufactured housing dealers. We are serious about closing legal loopholes and addressing “consumer concerns.”
As a result, the MBSA’s position is that anyone selling modular homes should be licensed as builder. While this position needs careful legislative drafting to accomplish the goal on a state by state basis, it would truly close any loopholes.
Finally, it is also important to point out that licensing manufactured housing dealers to sell modular homes will create additional consumer confusion. The MBSA already receives calls from consumers, developers and potential modular builders on a daily basis. The majority of these calls concern questions about the differences between modular homes and HUD Code homes.
This used to be a fairly simple issue for the average person to understand, but with the addition of crossover product such as “on-frame” or “Hudular” homes, the general public has become increasingly confused. Allowing manufactured housing dealers to sell true modular homes alongside HUD code and on-frame products further confuses consumers and the general public.
There is a valuable place in today’s housing market for HUD Code products. There may even be a niche market for “Hudular” products. But let’s call a spade a spade instead of trying to call it a pick axe or a digging iron. Each one of these products is separate in its own way and mixing them together does not further the best interests of the modular housing industry.
In sum, licensing manufactured home dealers to sell modular homes is bad for the modular industry for the following reasons:
1 - Manufactured home dealers do not have the same qualifications as licensed builders
2 - Licensing manufactured home dealers to sell modular homes does not fix any “legal loopholes” (as requiring them to be a licensed builder would)
3 - Allowing manufactured home dealers to hold themselves out as a “licensed modular home salesperson” will only engender further consumer confusion.
As noted at the beginning of this piece, modular manufacturers consider it a common sense issue that anyone selling modular homes should be a licensed builder.
Similar to the Red Sox fans who always believed their team to be Champions, so too does the modular industry believe that licensed builders selling modular homes is the natural order of things. It took eighty-six years for the Red Sox to win the World Series. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another eighty-six years for the modular industry to require that anyone selling modular homes be a licensed builder.
